Geoffrion called up by NHL's Nashville Predators

News has come to light this afternoon that former Wisconsin captain and 2010 Hobey Baker award winner Blake Geoffrion has been called up by the Nashville Predators. Nothing official has been released by a major media outlet but this tweet from Geoffrions buddy and former teammate Mike Davies all but confirms the news.

After a slow start with Milwaukee of the AHL, Geoffrion has really come on as of late. The former second round draft pick of the Predators, Geoffrion has recorded 25 points in his past 21 games for the Admirals. Geoffrion currently runs a line of 11 goals, and 26 assists for 37 points in 45 American Hockey League games. Geoffrions 37 points for Milwaukee trail only Linus Klasen for the team lead.

A four year player at Wisconsin, Geoffrion will no doubt be remembered as one of the most influential players in program history. Being the first Badger player to win the prestigious Hobey Baker Memorial award alone should forever cement his place in program history.

As a Tennessee native, Geoffrions call up has historical implications. I believe Geoffrion is not only the first Tennessee native to suit up for the Predators but the first Tennessee native ever to make an NHL appearance.

Additionally, Geoffrion will become a fourth generation NHL'er when he plays his first shift for the Predators. Blake's father Dan Geoffrion played 111 NHL games for Winnipeg and Montreal, Blake's grandfather Bernie "Boom-Boom" Geoffrion was an NHL Hall of Famer and had over 800 points in the NHL and his great grandfather Howie Morenz won 3 Stanley Cups during his Hall of Fame career.

Geoffrion's debut will make him the 20th former Badger to play in the NHL this season.

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Blake Geoffrion bobble head night tomorrow

Looking for a hockey fix with the Wisconsin men's hockey team having a much needed weekend of rest? Look no further than the Milwaukee Admirals.

Tomorrow night (Friday), the Admirals are giving away Blake Geoffrion bobble heads to the first 5,000 fans in attendance courtesy of Lee Jeans.

The Admirals will be wearing special red jerseys like the one in the picture on the left that are currently being auctioned online at milwaukeeadmirals.com and bidding goes until noon Friday. Winning bidders will meet the player after the game and get to take the jersey home that night. The current bid for the Geoffrion jersey is only at $550.

Additionally Bucky Badger and the Wisconsin band will be in attendance at the game for their annual trip to the Bradley Center. According to the release from the Admirals, the band will play during the game and will play a special "fourth period" after the game on the ice.

Geoffrion has been playing great hockey as of late and recently had a 5 point night that he explained as "one of those nights where the puck was fin­ding my stick and I was fin­ding guys on the ice and the pas­ses were get­ting through." Blake also has been doing some blogging for the Tennessean which you can find here. For his play recently, Blake was named the Reebok/AHL player of the week.

The Badger men have the weekend off, the women are in Bemidji, the men's basketball team and the Packers don't play until Sunday so why not make the short trip to Milwaukee and see some future NHL stars and support Blake on his big night. Blake brought us our first Hobey, the least we can do is support him.

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Wisconsin to honor Blake Geoffrion Friday

Like the headline indicates, Friday night the University of Wisconsin and it's men's hockey program will honor 2010 Hobey Baker Memorial Award winner Blake Geoffrion.

There will be a poster giveaway on both Friday and Saturday night courtesy of Suttle Straus. Gates will open on Friday night at 6 PM and Blake will be signing autographs from 6 to 6:30 by section 111 in the Kohl Center concourse.

Geoffrion was the first Wisconsin player to ever win the award. The Brentwood, TN native finished the season with 28 goals and 50 points. A two year captain, Geoffrion capped his career at Wisconsin when he led the Badgers to the 2010 Frozen Four in Detroit.

A second round draft pick of his hometown Nashville Predators, Geoffrion is currently skating for their AHL affiliate in Milwaukee. Geoffrion currently has 13 points in 25 games for the Admirals. He missed about a month in November with a concussion but is back to full strength and has 7 points in his past 13 games.

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Oooh, sparkly . . . (& other alumni updates)

- This is Jake Dowell's Stanley Cup ring. He was invited to the Sept 30 ceremony with the team and received the ring at that time. Nice and sparkly, 8 carats of diamonds I'm told. Thanks to Vicki for sharing the photo.

- Speaking of Jake, it's nice to see him record his 1st goal of the season on Wednesday. In 11 games he's 1-2-3 and has been averaging over 10 minutes per game.

- Tom Gilbert scored his 2nd goal of the year on Tuesday, and Paul Capobianco asks us if we recognize the spot from which TG scored.

- Blake Geoffrion was featured in the Badger Herald this Monday. Blake has yet to score a goal for the Admirals this season but has 4 assists in 7 games. EDIT: Thanks to Capo for pointing out this longer article on the Admirals website.

- Aaron Bendickson, who was leading the ECHL's Gwinnet Gladiators with 9 pts (2G 7A) in the 1st 4 games of the season, has signed a 25-game professional tryout agreement with the AHL's Rochester Americans. He'll potentially make his AHL debut tonight @ the Worcester Sharks.

- And since we mentioned Gwinnett, I should mention that Andy Brandt has 2 goals in 5 GP and Mike Davies has 1G and 3A in 3 GP.

- Josh Engel was recently recalled from the ECHL's Reading Royals to the AHL's Toronto Marlies. Engel played just 2 games for the Royals before being recalled.

- People keep asking me where Joe Piskula is. And so I'll tell you - he's with the AHL's Abbottsford Heat and has played in all 10 games so far this season.

Stepan, McDonagh, Geoffrion Make Debuts

Thursday night marked a special moment in the careers of three former Badgers. New York Rangers prospects Derek Stepan and Ryan McDonagh and Nashville Predators prospect Blake Geoffrion all made their NHL exhibition debuts.

Stepan, McDonagh and the blue shirts hosted the New Jersey Devils at Madison Square Garden (not a bad place to see your first NHL action eh). From all indications, Stepan looked all world.

The Hastings native opened up the game centering a line featuring perennial NHL All-Star Marian Gaborik and Alexander Frolov. The line didn't waste much time getting on the board when Stepan breaking in off the side boards found Frolov who one touched a pass to Gaborik who buried it behind future Hall of Famer Martin Brodeur. Stepan finished the night with one assist, 4 shots on goal and was minus 1 in 18 minutes of action.

McDonagh was a bit more under the radar Thursday night but he played a solid 19 minutes finishing plus one. He also had one monster hit on Mattias Tedenby.

Geoffrions debut with Nashville was in a bit more of a limited role. With a glut of centers on Nashville this season Geoffrion was forced to the wing where he played on the left side of the fourth line. (edit: I've seen contradictory reports on if Blake played LW or C) Geoffrion played just over 14 minutes and finished the night -1. Blake also spent 4:28 on the PK Thursday night which is encouraging.

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Geoffrion Up For ESPY Tonight

I just wanted to take the time out here to remind everyone that 2010 Hobey Baker winner Blake Geoffrion will be on ESPN tonight.

The former Badger has been nominated for an 2010 ESPY award which is being held at the Nokia Theater in downtown Los Angeles.

Geoffrion is up for the Best Male College Athlete ESPY. Others nominated were Heisman Trophy winner Mark Ingram from Alabama (football), Evan Turner from Ohio State (baskeball), John Wall from Kentucky (basketball), and Garrett Wittels from Florda International (baseball).

Geoffrion is in attendance in LA right now and has been tweeting his experiences so far, including meeting NFL stars Tim Tebow, and Adrian Peterson as well as New Orleans Saints HC Sean Payton and ESPN's Chris Berman.

The show will be airing live tonight on ESPN (HD) starting at 8PM Central time. It will be hosted by Saturday Night Live's Seth Meyers.

Geoffrion Nominated For An ESPY-VOTE NOW

Wisconsin Badgers Tri-Captain and 2010 Hobey Baker winner Blake Geoffrion continues to accumulate accolades. Just a few months removed from the Frozen Four, Geoffrion has been nominated for an ESPN ESPY award for "Best Male College Athlete."

You can vote for Blake by going to this LINK.

Other players nominated are Mark Ingram, Alabama football Heisman Trophy winner; Evan Turner, Ohio State baskebtall player; John Wall, Kentucky basketball player, and Garrett Wittels, Florida International baseball player who has a current 56 game hitting streak going.

In addition to his ESPY nomination, yesterday Blake was named the University of Wisconsin Male Athlete of the Year. Junior simmer/diver Maggie Meyer was named the Female Athlete of the Year.

Each Big Ten school nominates a male and female Athlete of the Year, and those two student-athletes become nominees for the Big Ten Conference Athlete of the Year awards. The Jesse Owens Male Athlete of the Year and Suzy Favor Female Athlete of the Year awards are then voted on by a panel of conference media members. The Big Ten will announce its athlete of the year award winners on Wednesday at 6 p.m.

Photo by Melody Hasse

Geoffrion Signs With Predators

2010 Hobey Baker winner and Wisconsin tri-captain Blake Geoffrion is now officially a member of the Nashville Predators. Geoffrion inked a two year entry level deal Tuesday with the Predators at his old elementary school in Tennessee.

Geoffrion, 22 (2/3/88), won the Hobey Baker, award given to college hockey’s most outstanding player, after tying for second in the nation in goals (28) and finishing first in Division I hockey in power-play tallies (15). A tri-captain of the University of Wisconsin Badgers in 2009-10, Geoffrion posted 50 points (28g-22a) in 40 games, helping the school reach the NCAA National Championship Game. In addition to recently being named USA Hockey’s College Player of the Year, the 6-1, 196-pound right wing was a First-Team West All-American, and a First-Team WCHA selection in his senior season. Geoffrion was also the Most Valuable Player of the West Regional after leading UW to victories over Vermont and St. Cloud State with five points (2g-3a) in the two games.

During his four-season collegiate career, Geoffrion amassed 114 points (55g-59a) and 243 penalty minutes in 146 games. The Nashville Youth Hockey League product is a fourth generation player – his grandfather, Bernie “Boom Boom” Geoffrion is a Hockey Hall-of-Famer and was an 11-time All-Star, and great grandfather, Howie Morenz, was part of the Hall of Fame’s first induction class, and was a three-time Hart Trophy winner. The two won a combined nine Stanley Cups with the Montreal Canadiens. His father, Danny, was drafted eighth overall by the Canadiens in the 1978 Draft, and played for both Montreal and Winnipeg during his NHL career, as well as Quebec in the World Hockey Association. His two younger brothers, Brice and Sebastien, both worked their way through the Nashville youth hockey system, and now play for the University of Alabama-Huntsville.

2010 Hobey Baker Winner, 1st Team All American & 1st Team WCHAer named USA Hockey College POY

One more National Award for Blake Geoffrion, he has been named USA Hockey College Player of the Year.

If you are in Colorado Springs on June 10th, you can see him accept the award in person at a "night of tribute."

It should also be mentioned that Blake graduated the other weekend w/ a degree in Consumer Science, and this was a proud accomplishment on top of everything he did on the ice. This article is a little old, but Andy Baggot had an outstanding write up about the KickAss Captain's graduation.

I think the end of the USA Hockey piece explains why Blake was such a great player (bold emphasis mine):

Geoffrion was also a prominent presence on the one of the nation’s top power-play killing teams. The senior did all the little things that helped the Badgers succeed, including serving as the team’s top faceoff artist by winning nearly 60 percent of faceoffs in the season.

As a senior, Geoffrion also led off the ice. As one of the team’s three captains, he was consistently the team’s vocal motivator in and out of the rink.

Captain Asskicker will be missed next season, but the memories of his magical season will never be forgotten by Badger fans who witnessed it. He brought home the first Hobey in team history and led his teammates to the National Championship game. #7 would have been icing on the cake, but it does nothing to take away from the accomplishments of #5, on AND off the ice.

I'm not sure where Blake will be next season (either Milwaukee or Nashville), but it sure would be cool if his schedule worked to have a little tribute night at the Kohl Center when Alabama Huntsville comes to town early in the season. Blake's brothers will be suiting up for the Chargers, and his family will be in attendance; it sure would be fun!

Outstanding picture by HockeyFan.

1st Star in Home Debut for Admiral Asskicker

I meant to post this yesterday, but the day got away from me.

I traveled to Milwaukee on saturday night to see Blake Geoffrion's home debut as a Milwaukee Admiral and was not disappointed.

Admiral Asskicker (formerly Captain Asskicker) scored two goals to help the Admirals to a 6-0 win over the Chicago Wolves; for his efforts he was named 1st Star!!!

The first goal was set up by a nice drop pass, which Blake promptly slapped home past the Wolves Peter Mannino early in the 2nd period. In the 3rd period, Blake cleaned up a rebound and put in his 2nd of the night on an Admirals PP.

AA missed his chance at a hat trick later in the 3rd on another PP, when he pulled a Davies (missing an open net when the goalie is out of position) on another rebound, but for his 2nd pro game not too shabby.

Overall, Blake played awesome!!! He was announced as one of the starters (wearing #5) and for a guy who only joined the team the previous day, and had never practiced all out w/ his teammates, he looked like he had been in the AHL all season; he fit right in. Taking a step up in level of play and competition wasn't a problem for Wisconsin's first Hobey Baker winner.

The Admirals look to even the series tonight against the Wolves, so if you are in Milwaukee, head to the Bradley Center for a 7 PM puck drop.

I'd also like to comment that somethings never change, you might remember Peter Mannino from his role as that huge sieve in goal for the Denver Pionners, who liked to flop around anytime Ben Grotting's stick come anywhere near his helmet. After giving up 4 goals in 2 periods, he was replaced in the 3rd period by a folding chair, which aquitted itself quite well in comparison.

Admiral Asskicker: It's official

Sources:
JSOnline
Nashville Predators' website
and a commenter in the last story gets credit for the heads up.

His debut will be tonight in Chicago. Again, games 3 and 4 of the Admirals' series against Chris Chelios and the Chicago Wolves are tomorrow and Monday at the Bradley Center.

Way to kick ass, Blake!

Captain Kickass gets promoted to Admiral?

Admiral Asskicker. Admiral Blake Kickass Hobey Bamm Bamm Baker Asskicker.

It's got a good ring to it, right?

As indicated by a commenter earlier, Bamm Bamm seems to be making his move to Milwaukee. Or Chicago, as it were. I can't find anything on the Predators or Admirals websites (of course, they'll post something right after I post this... my luck), but Admiral Asskicker did leave the ever so cryptic Tweet:

Heading to Chicago tomorrow....got to get all packed up.

Go get 'em, Admiral.

Note: if you live in Milwaukee, there will be a viewing party at Major Goolsby's to watch game 2 of the AHL first round of the playoffs. The Admirals and Wolves face off in Chicago. Games 3 and 4 are at the Bradley Center this Saturday and Monday. Tickets are probably cheap.

In related Badger Alumni news: Chris Chelios is continuing to defy the laws of time and play for the Wolves and will be facing off against Bamm Bamm and the Admirals (assuming, of course, that Blake was going there to join the team and not to go check out Millenium Park). The Wolves won game 1. Best of luck to both Badgers!

Link-o-rama

Time to catch up on a few stories:

Madison.com
Loss aside, Badgers back where they should be (Tom Oates) Essentially: this shouldn't be a once-every-four-years phenomenon.
Davies, Badgers had their opportunities (Andy Baggott) Okay, I won't post too many "recaps", but I figure at least one was necessary.
Dayne's Heisman helps Alvarez appreciate Geoffrion's Hobey (Baggott) As you might guess, this one sort of confirms how little Alvarez knows about this program. I mean, it's one thing when Neal Broten didn't know that no Badger had won the award (you know... since he's never worked for UW and was a hero for our bitter enemy) quite another when the AD doesn't know it until the day of the ceremony. But, like certain types of Badger fans, Barry sometimes needs to filter his feelings through UW's other, less successful programs before he can truly appreciate what an excellent hockey program we have.
Alvarez on new hockey rink: "We'll get it done" (Baggott) A little bit of damage control on the reaction to postponing the practice facility earlier this year. Not sure we learn anything new here, but it's still a good reminder that it ain't over til it's over.

Milwaukee Journal-Sentinal
Blake Geoffrion Quasi-Update (Eric Kent) Bamm Bamm's road to Milwaukee/Nashville could go a few different ways.
UW-Madison ends apparel deal with Nike (Sharif Durhams) Not surprising, what with our Adidas sponsorhips on our equipment and all...

Other Places
Frozen Four Notebook: Brendan Smith talks future (Michael Spath, CollegeHockey247.com) Remember when Robbie Earl was put on the spot and claimed he'd be coming back in 2006-07? Yeah, this feels like that. Also some other post-Frozen Four stuff in there, including a false claim that we won the Broadmoor this year.
Preds will look to sign Geoffrion soon (John Glennon, The Tennessean) Self-explainatory.
Loss Aside, Hockey Season a Success (Adam Holt, Badger Herald)
Game Recap, Nashville vs. St. Louis, 4-10-10 (NHL.com) Evidently, Captain Kickass was given a huge ovation when his Hobey victory was announced during a stoppage in play on Saturday.

List of All-Americans Grows

Wisconsin has a long history of All-American players and that list just got two members longer.

On the same day that Blake Geoffrion was named the winner of the 2010 Hobey Baker, he was also named 1st Team All-American along w/ teammate Brendan Smith. Both were obvious choices, and joined three Denver players in an almost clean WCHA sweep of the West 1st Team.

Brendan Smith followed in the footsteps of his former PP unit teammate Jamie McBain who was a 1st Teamer last season. I think there is a good chance someone in the Cardinal and White continues that tradition next season. Jake Gardiner, Justin Schultz, who wants to step up?

Captain Asskicker becomes the first Badger forward since Olympian Joe Pavelski was a 2nd Teamer in 2006.

Congrats to both Blake and Brendan on the much deserved recognition and bring home #7 tonight!!!

GO RED!!!!!

He's Hobey Baker: Blake Geoffrion

From Gandalf's Ode:

Some call him Boom Boom or Bam Bam, but for such an astute young man of character, he’s our leader: Captain Asskicker.

And now he has another name: Hobey Baker.

For quite some time now, Gandalf and I have been telling everyone who will listen that Geoffrion is the best complete hockey player in college hockey. And I'm glad the Hobey Baker committee saw that as well and has finally deigned to honor a Badger. As much as we all think Steve Reinprecht and Brian Elliott were robbed (not to mention Gary Shuchuk, who somehow ridiculously didn't even make the top 10, let alone the top 3), it seems somewhat fitting that our current captain is the first Badger recipient. As I said earlier, there seems to be a bit of an air of destiny around Geoffrion, and so he's become our first Badger Hobey.

Congratulations to Blake for this well-deserved honor.

INCH Player of the Year: Captain AssKicker

I know, I know, it's just INCH, but it's still cool. Even INCH can recognize the awesomeness of our fearless captain.

But then again, how could anyone not recognize the awesomeness of our Captain AssKicker? Going into the regionals, I had a feeling about the Badgers, and it hinged off my belief in 2 players -- Blake Geoffrion and Mike Davies. They've really been clutch for the Badgers, especially in the latter half of the season, and as far as I'm concerned, if you can't believe in Geoffrion and Davies, I honestly don't know what you could believe in. I'll admit that I might be slightly unbalanced when it comes to Badger Hockey, lol, and so feel free to call me crazy, but it seems to me there's an air of destiny around Captain Asskicker.

Now before my new friend IHateRedWings has a stroke, let me state that under no circumstances am I going to predict the outcome of Saturday's game. Having the guy next to me (not Mr 60, just some random hockey fan sitting on the other side of me) say something about a shutout last night was bad enough, gah, if IHRW was there I think he would've had a serious talking-to with that guy.

Anyway, getting back to INCH, they also named Brendan Smith their Defenseman of the Year. NICE!

Speaking of stellar defenseman, I'd like to digress a bit and take this opportunity to give some love to Ryan McDonagh. After the West Regionals, I meant to post about his being named to the all-tourney team, but I never got around to it. Which is terrible on my part (my apologies to Ryan McDonagh fans everywhere), because I was quite pleased to see McD recognized. With all the hype around Brendan Smith, it's a bit unfortunate that McD hasn't gotten more recognition. From a pure defensive standpoint, he's probably the best defenseman on the team; he's just plain rock solid.

ON WISCONSIN!

Blake Geoffrion: The Hobey is Really What Matters to Me

Blake Geoffrion was recently on Madison's 1670 to talk about the following topics:

- How Wisconsin is totally just overlooking RIT and studying tapes on BC and Miami.
- How he's spending most of his focus on his outfit for the Hobey Ceremony.
- His deep down wish that hockey games at the Kohl Center included more dull moments, just like Camp Randall football games.
- His undying anticipation to be in Nashville, because he's just not a fan of living in Wisconsin.

You can hear the interview at the 1670 link provided above.

There are actually some good videos of the interview, that I can't embed here:
Link 1
Link 2

Blake Geoffrion Named Hobey Hat Trick Finalist

University of Wisconsin tri-captain Blake Geoffrion has been named a top three finalist for the 2010 Hobey Baker Memorial Award.

The two other finalists for the Hobey are Maine sophomore forward Gustav Nyquist and New Hampshire senior forward Bobby Butler. Nyquist leads the nation in scoring and Butler was named the Hockey East Player of the Year.

Geoffrion, a senior forward from Brentwood, Tennessee is in my opinion the most well rounded forward in the nation this season. Besides centering the top line for the Badgers, he's also on the first power play unit and is in the first group of penalty killers.

Geoffrion is also a tank in the face off circle winning over 60% of his draws this season. This season Geoffrion has accumulated 27 goals (2nd in the nation) and 21 assists for 48 points in 38 games. Geoffrion also leads the nation in power play goals with 14.

Geoffion has also taken his game to the next level in the playoffs which is a great sign of a leader. The MVP in the West Regional, Geoffrion had a five point weekend in leading the Badgers to the Frozen Four. Geoffrion is the only finalist who's team is in the Frozen Four. Overall in playoff action this season, Geoffrion has recorded 6 goals and 5 assists in 6 contests. Hobey Baker candidates step up in the playoffs and Blake certainly has.

In addition to his accomplishments on the ice, Blake also spends time visiting the UW Children's Hospital, has been a mentor to a cancer patient, and is a Peer Leader lending assistance to UW Students.

The Hobey Baker will be awarded Friday, April 9th, at Ford Field in Detroit. The announcement will be aired live on ESPNU starting at 6:00 PM Central Time.

Photo by Red Heat 15

Geoffrion, Smith Named Hobey Baker Finalists

The Hobey Baker Memorial Award Foundation have announced their top ten finalists for the 2010 Hobey Baker. I'm happy to let you guys know that Blake Geoffrion (aka Bamm Bamm, aka Captain Kickass, aka Captain Asskicker) and Brendan Smith (aka Smitty, aka I Don't Have Blake's Cool Nicknames) are among the ten. Both are absolutely deserving of the honor, and I could picture either one of them taking it home. For all the intangibles he's brought to UW this year, I'd have to side with my fellow bloggers and say that my vote would be for Geoffrion.

Either way, a huge congratulations to both Badgers, as they have represented themselves, their school and their fans with pride this season. Way to go, fellas!

The Hobey Top Ten (alphabetically):

Bobby Butler (New Hampshire, F, Sr)
Marc Cheverie (Denver, G, Jr)
Blake Geoffrion (Wisconsin, F, Sr)
Gustav Nyquist (Maine, F, So)
Mark Olver (Northern Michigan, F, Jr)
Chase Polacek (RPI, F, Jr)
Rhett Rakhshani (Denver, F, Sr)
Cody Reichard (Miami, G, So)
Ben Scrivens (Cornell, G, Sr)
Brendan Smith (Wisconsin, D, Jr)

The blurbs on the Badgers from the official release:

Blake Geoffrion – University of Wisconsin, Senior, Forward, Brentwood, Tennessee
The second-year captain has been especially strong in WCHA play. Geoffrion leads the conference in goals with 19, power play goals with 11 and is second in points with 34, all good enough to garner First Team all-star honors. He has an amazing 23% shooting percentage and is a great penalty killer. He’s a Consumer Science major.
• His dad Danny, granddad Bernie “Boom Boom” and great grandpa Howie Morenz all played for Montreal Canadiens – Boomer and Howie are enshrined in the Hockey Hall of Fame and have 9 Stanley Cups between them
• Has 23 goals and 18 assists for 41 points in 34 games – Nashville draft pick

Brendan Smith – University of Wisconsin, Junior, Defenseman, Mimico, Ontario
The lone defenseman in the top ten happens to be 19th overall in the nation in scoring while topping all defensemen in college hockey. He helped lead the high-scoring Badgers to number two in the nation in offense and earned Smith First Team WCHA and Defensive Player of the Year honors.
• Has 15 goals and 29 assists for 44 points in 36 games – 11 power play goals
• Detroit draft pick – Sociology major
• Topped the WCHA in points, goals and assists by a defensemen

Geoffrion wins the Hobey or it shouldn't be awarded

Props to HockeyFan for the great pic!

The time for unbiased news on Badger Hockey is over (ok so we’ve called out Patrick Johnson most of the season, so maybe that isn’t true already). I’m throwing my 1/5 of the blog’s support behind Blake Geoffrion for the Hobey Baker! I’m just going to safely assume 60 is w/ me on this one, so we are up to a 40% endorsement here. Anyone else want to join us?

Sorry Brendan Smith, you might be the favorite, as far as Badgers go, right now for the Hobey, but I have to go w/ Captain Asskicker for Hobey!

The Kick Ass Captain is having by far his best season in the Cardinal and White, and looking at the long list of potential candidates for the Hobey, he has something that most of the others don’t (Rhett Rahkshani of Denver being an exception) and that is leadership. His stats are right up there w/ forwards across the country, and this is despite missing a chance to rake it up against Tech a few weeks back due to a concussion caused by the cowardly head shot from dress wearing Aaron Marvin.

Leadership is not something one can quantify on a stat sheet, but even to the casual fan it is obvious that Blake Geoffrion is the heart and soul of the Badgers this season. He is a presence on the ice and long will the exploits of #5 be remembered in the Kohl Center. He is the warrior king who fights hard for his teammates in the corner and in front of the net, but is also the diplomat with the officials to ask them why they are such morons and blow so many obvious calls. The skates he has to fill are of titanic proportions, but he never shies away from the challenges, and he accepts his responsibilities with pride, and his hard work shines through as he honors the jersey worn by the greats who have come before him, whose company he is now and forever will be a part of.

Captain Asskicker’s senior year was a blessing to Badger fans everywhere, as most could not believe that he’d return. Thank you Blake Geoffrion for four years of service to Wisconsin Hockey: the team and its fans. It is time for you to guide this team home, home to the Kohl Center on April 11th with National Championship #7 in your hands after weathering six of the toughest games you and your teammates will have endured all season.

Grandfather Boom Boom has to be beaming with pride for his grandson as he watches his success between games of pick up hockey in Heaven.